Download PDF

Billionaire producer and philanthropist David Geffen is a Hollywood superpower everyone should know.   He sat in the honored spot to the left of Michelle Obama during the state dinner that First Lady and President Barack Obama hosted at the White House for India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and wife Gusharan Kaur.   Loyal David had orchestrated a major fundraiser for Obama’s presidential campaign, having mustered $1.3 million at that event, boldly critiquing Mr. Obama’s rival, Hillary Clinton, as “polarizing” to New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd during the presidential race.   

Couples were seated together at tables of 10 that were color-schemed in parrot green and purple, with David escorting his mate, Jeremy Lingvall, 26, to the green curry prawn dinner for 338 guests.  Other Hollywood invitees included Steven Spielberg, Endeavor Agency’s Sarah and Ari Emanuel (brother of White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel), Dreamworks’ Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg.
 
A Brooklyn native with Lithuanian and Ukranian ancestry, David remains a dedicated Democrat, along with Steven Spielberg, his filmmaking partner.  With his entrepreneurial genius in music, movies and investments, he’s amassed a fortune estimated at $4.6 billion, making him one of our richest denizens in the entertainment community.  Or, for that matter, anywhere. 

A born gentleman, David always extends a friendly greeting, and frequents our favorite Greek restaurant, Taverna Tony, in Malibu.   On occasion we’ve found him enjoying lunch from owner Tony Corfu’s kitchen with Universal’s Ron Meyer, Barry Diller, Terry Semel, Calvin Klein.

A few years back, David bought the oceanfront Malibu Beach Inn, not far from Taverna Tony, for $29 million and restored it for $10 million.  The Inn’s within walking distance from his beach house, and with David’s Midas touch, The Inn quickly became a successful enterprise, serving good food, and a fine place for meetings and events.
 
David’s philanthropy knows no bounds, having contributed $5 million to the Westwood Playhouse, which then was named the Geffen Playhouse.  He’s known for a $200 million unrestricted endowment for UCLA’s Medical School, that’s now the David Geffen School of Medicine – considered the largest gift to a medical school in the U.S.   In recognition of his $5 million donation to MOCA, the museum’s Temporary Contemporary was renamed the Geffen Contemporary.   He’s initiated efforts to buy the Los Angeles Times, which was sold to Sam Zell.  Earlier this year, Business Week reported that he would invest $200 million for a stake in the New York Times.

Besides his beach house with its extended parcels of land, David owns the former Jack Warner mansionette in Beverly Hills, which antiquaire Rose Tarlow decorated with her high style.  His collection of contemporary art is formidable, and he’s sold works for multimillions to cosmetics kingpin Leonard Lauder and Mexican investor David Martinez.

Not long ago, David partnered with Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison in the ownership of the Rising Sun, the world’s 6th largest yacht, built in Germany at a cost of $200 million.   The mega-yacht has 82 rooms on five stories, bathrooms with Jacuzzis, a gym, a basketball court that doubles as a helicopter pad, a cinema, amid other luxuries.  ICM’s Toni Howard and husband David Yarnell, Ron Meyer, Arianna Huffington are invited to share summer holidays visiting the Mediterranean and Pacific islands.  David’s come a long way from his Brooklyn roots.

We met Janet and Freddy de Cordova during the ’70s, after my army service when I was traveling the globe as an editor-at-large for Town & Country magazine.   Last weekend, friends were remembering Janet over drinks and caviar at Il Piccolino in West Hollywood.  We lost Janet in September (Freddy died in 2001).  

One of great broads, a blonde beauty from Dover, Kentucky, Janet came West after conquering Manhattan with her marriage to the White Russian nightclub impresario Gogi of Gogi’s LaRue (one of her numerous unions).   By 1963, she wed witty Freddy, the Emmy-winning producer of The Tonight Show, and conquered Hollywood with her glamour and clever humor.   Happy larks on the town, Janet and Freddy were adored by all, dining and dancing at glamorous parties hosted by Anne and Kirk Douglas, Alfred and Betsy Bloomingdale (introduced by Freddy, who was Alfred’s best man), Billy and Audrey Wilder, MCA-Universal powerhouses Doris and Jules Stein, who we crowned the Empress and Emperor of Tinsel Town, entertaining royalty as they did, along with international stars. 

But, oh, how Janet and Freddy loved those home-cooked dinners at Connie Wald’s in Beverly Hills.  Always with that lively mix of guests, such as Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, Gloria and Jimmy Stewart, Gore Vidal, Nancy Reagan,  Christopher Plummer, Vanity Fair’s juicy gossipist Dominick Dunne, rivaled only in name-dropping by Londoner Nicky Haslam, whose just-published memoir, Redeeming Features, takes the I know-everyone prize.   Truth to tell, Nicky’s memory failed him when he discusses Show magazine.  We were there, and we know the true yin and yang.   

A former model during her New York years for designer Claire McCardell, Connie wed Hollywood’s producer Jerry Wald, who won Best Picture Oscars for Sons & Lovers (1960),  Peyton Place (1957), Johnny Belinda (1948), Mildred Pierce (1945).    Three years ago, Connie was photographed at age 90 for Vanity Fair’s Best Dressed List. 

This spring, Vanity Fair interviewed Janet in San Luis Potosi, where Janet relocated for her “third act” in one of Mexico’s beautiful capital cities with its rich gold and silver mining history.  Janet settled in with the family of Grace Covarubbias, who looked after the de Cordovas for years in Los Angeles.  Grace’s brother is a popular doctor thereabouts, the Covarubbiases are landowners, and Janet’s the godmother of Grace’s daughter Selena.

Celebrity hairstylist Yuki Takei styled Janet’s hair for the photo shoot, and Yuki reports the Vanity Fair article is scheduled for its Hollywood issue in March.  The magazine’s Matt Tyrnauer, who produced the award-winning documentary, The Last Emperor, about couturier Valentino, profiled Janet.  

A passel of les girls, along with Il Piccolino’s Eddy Kerkhofs, his wife Britt, and everybody’s favorite antiquaire/florist David Jones orchestrated Janet’s afternoon remembrance.   They included Michelle Phillips, who owns property near San Luis Potosi and frequently visited Janet, Sandra Moss with philanthropist beau Charlie Moed, who flew in from New York, Audrey Wilder, Kelly Day, Anne and Kirk Douglas, Wendy Stark, Juli Hutner, Jeanne Martin. 

Also remembering Janet were Joanna Carson, Robert Wagner and Jill St. John, Betsy Bloomingdale, Rosemarie Stack, Shirlee Fonda and Rob Wolders, Kit and Jay Kanter, Nolan Miller, Abbe Lane, Buck Henry, Nora Barcelona, David Niven Jr.

“This opera’s my Christmas present, I couldn’t ask for anything more,” noted Meyling Eliash Daneshfar during our L. A. Opera’s premiere of Rossini’s opera buffa, The Barber of Seville.  Cybill Shepherd added her high praise -- “Like a superb production in Salzburg, great singing and great comedy.”  Cybill was with writer Robert Keats, admitting she prefers our Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to the Metropolitan Opera, which she finds “too big.”  

Imaginatively designed and directed, the production originated in Madrid, with excellent conducting here by Italy’s 30-year-old Michele Mariotti.   Our L.A. cast is outstanding.  Athletically nimble Nathan Gunn, the Indiana-born baritone and father of five, also one of People Magazine’s “sexiest men,” is sensational in the title role. Peru’s bel canto tenor Juan Diego Florez hits those high Cs as lovesick Count Almaviva, and mezzo soprano Joyce DiDonato sings rapturously as the desirable Rosina.  Bass-baritone Bruno Patrico’s a riot as the clowning Doctor Bartolo, while bass Andrea Silvestrelli connives as Don Basilio.   Their voices wowed the bravo’ing audience.  An exhilarating triumph, not to be missed.  Through December 19.

“I’m dedicating this night to my wife, Michele Lee,” announced Jason Reitman during the premiere at the Village Theatre of his highly original Up in the Air, which took six years to write and seduced such players as George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, the wonderful Anne Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Danny McBride.  The Oscar-nominated Jason helmed those equally original and acclaimed films, Juno, and Thank You for Smoking.  The national review board chose Up in the Air  as their best picture.  

“Directors wives put up with our being away days and nights,  busy as we are with pre-production, production, post-production, followed by the promotional tour.  They take care of our children, and are selfless beyond words.”  The son of director-producer Ivan Reitman, Jason was born in Canada, where hockey’s the national sport (sacred, in fact), and Jason fesses up that it was Michele who taught him everything he knows about hockey!